Tatum talks about leadership, takes shot at JB

[Goldstar88]

Being a leader doesn't mean you know it all, right? I don't know it all," Tatum said. "I'll be the first person to say that. Being a leader is being comfortable with raising your hand like, I don't know. Can you explain that to me? I don't know X, Y, and Z. I want to learn. Being around somebody that feels like they know it all, I don't want to be around that person. I don't want to be the smartest person in the room. I want to learn from somebody else.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/celtics-jayson-tatum-details-leadership-231001299.html

Certainly sounds like he's talking about JB...

Maybe. But what comes through most to me from the post is that JT may not be the kind of leader the Celtics need. I love the guy and am 100% on board with him being a learner. But being a leader for this team I do think requires a very high confidence level and an ability to have answers not just questions. JB may have been delusional but his self-assuredness may well have been a positive when leading the young Celtics players last season.

I also think that JT doesn't have the leadership traits that the Cs need. He is soft and doesn't exude confidence, unlike Bird, Garnett or Pierce. He's offensive game is lazy too and in the last 2 or 3  years he hasn't been clutch.  If not for Brown's superb game in 2024 the Cs wouldn't have gotten the trophy (don't remind me of JT's flaky postgame celebration).

People wants him to be the leader of the Cs, but for  me it's just like forcing a square peg into a round hole.

Tatum averaged 30ppg for an entire season and is regularly making All-NBA first team, but you think he is soft and lacks confidence? 

Not all leaders are loud and boisterous. I think Jrue Holiday is a perfect example of this.

A lot of people can see Tatum regularly  getting tight and nervous in crunch time.  He does lack confidence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIfUL_2nbCM

Here are some more moments of Tatum lacking confidence and getting tight in crunch time. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=grIHgfCKHVE&pp=ygUbamF5c29uIHRhdHVtIGNsdXRjaCBtb21lbnRz&ra=m

[Csfan1984]

Think he was just preaching Cs leadership/team philosophy. The team wants to be analytical and not gut feel. They want guys buying into the system. They don't want traditional leaders from the player level. They value "yes"  men, and want players to feel equal. The players and team have said this before in interviews. If JB was never here Tatum would still say something cringy about leadership because the team doesn't want normal leaders.

[Donoghus]

Tatum lacks confidence? What kind of world are we living in here?

[Neurotic Guy]

Tatum lacks confidence? What kind of world are we living in here?

I don?t think he lacks confidence. My question is what type of player-leader will this team respond best to? This isn?t a cohesive veteran team.

If they respond to a less vociferous good role model, then JT might be just right. If they need a demonstrative, assertive, in your face at times, supremely confident general, I?m not sure that he can fit that profile. 

If the team doesn?t produce wins as they did last season, one of the reasons might be the difference in leadership style between JT and JB rather than their comparative talent.

[Phantom255x]

I think people are being naive if they think both Tatum wasn't somewhat involved in the Jaylen Brown trade saga AND that some of these quotes (or non-quotes too) also aren't reflective of that.

Otherwise, Tatum may be the most oblivious guy on the planet and is just going about it without checking social media or caring about what others' think (I highly doubt that)

Something 1000% happened behind the scenes in the past two seasons and it made Tatum sour on Jaylen and contributed to his departure. If Tatum truly wanted Jaylen, Brad would still give him the extension and instead dump White and others similar to KP/Jrue. And then these quotes, very hard not to connect some of the dots. Again, I said *some*. I will always believe this and nothing will change my mind/opinion here

[Roy H.]

I will always believe this and nothing will change my mind/opinion here

That pretty much sums up the feelings of all conspiracy theorists.

[Phantom255x]

I will always believe this and nothing will change my mind/opinion here

That pretty much sums up the feelings of all conspiracy theorists.

Fine with me, I strongly believe it. The trade and everything that's transpired this offseason has been mega weird and I don't think it's all coincidence or anything straightforward.

[Celtics2021]

I will always believe this and nothing will change my mind/opinion here

That pretty much sums up the feelings of all conspiracy theorists.

Fine with me, I strongly believe it. The trade and everything that's transpired this offseason has been mega weird and I don't think it's all coincidence or anything straightforward.

You are totally correct that JT will not miss Jaylen, and I would not be surprised if that sentiment extended to White and Pritchard.  That said, I think it is a leap to suppose that JT, who was just talking to kids, reposted it for any reason other than to show he does community outreach.  I in fact doubt JT posted it himself as opposed to his publicist.

It is obvious the Celtics, from Brad on down, were ready for a divorce.  But that does not mean that everything any of them say is secretly about JB.  I do not think JB is on the mind of Tatum all that frequently now that he is elsewhere.

[Roy H.]

You are totally correct that JT will not miss Jaylen

I think he's going to miss having a player of JB's caliber to take over games from time to time, and he's going to miss being on a contender.

[Celtics2021]

You are totally correct that JT will not miss Jaylen

I think he's going to miss having a player of JB's caliber to take over games from time to time, and he's going to miss being on a contender.

You may prove to be right, but I do not think JT agrees with you that either of those will come to pass.

[SparzWizard]

Different generations, different era...you'd be surprised how Gen Z people are compared to millennials and gen X.

Yes, even including their mindset, how they think, and how they convey their words lol. JT might just be oblivious to everything, or has a lack of confidence, lack of awareness, or just thinks things outside the box.

You saw guys like Horford, Paul Pierce, KG...those guys were built differently.

[Goldstar88]

I think people are being naive if they think both Tatum wasn't somewhat involved in the Jaylen Brown trade saga AND that some of these quotes (or non-quotes too) also aren't reflective of that.

Otherwise, Tatum may be the most oblivious guy on the planet and is just going about it without checking social media or caring about what others' think (I highly doubt that)

Something 1000% happened behind the scenes in the past two seasons and it made Tatum sour on Jaylen and contributed to his departure. If Tatum truly wanted Jaylen, Brad would still give him the extension and instead dump White and others similar to KP/Jrue. And then these quotes, very hard not to connect some of the dots. Again, I said *some*. I will always believe this and nothing will change my mind/opinion here

I believe Brad keeps Tatum in the loop to some extent, but thinking Tatum gets to decide who stays and who goes is silly to me. I?m sure JB did rub some of his teammates the wrong way, especially if he was going off script during the playoffs which was reported by The Athletic.

After the trade JB mentioned on his live stream that the young guys had reached out to him. He did not mention Tatum. Also didn?t mention White, Pritchard or Hauser who have also been his teammates for years. No one talks about that, though.

[Celtics2021]

I think people are being naive if they think both Tatum wasn't somewhat involved in the Jaylen Brown trade saga AND that some of these quotes (or non-quotes too) also aren't reflective of that.

Otherwise, Tatum may be the most oblivious guy on the planet and is just going about it without checking social media or caring about what others' think (I highly doubt that)

Something 1000% happened behind the scenes in the past two seasons and it made Tatum sour on Jaylen and contributed to his departure. If Tatum truly wanted Jaylen, Brad would still give him the extension and instead dump White and others similar to KP/Jrue. And then these quotes, very hard not to connect some of the dots. Again, I said *some*. I will always believe this and nothing will change my mind/opinion here

I believe Brad keeps Tatum in the loop to some extent, but thinking Tatum gets to decide who stays and who goes is silly to me. I?m sure JB did rub some of his teammates the wrong way, especially if he was going off script during the playoffs which was reported by The Athletic.

After the trade JB mentioned on his live stream that the young guys reached out to him. He did not mention Tatum. Also didn?t mention White, Pritchard or Hauser who have been his teammates for years. No one talks about that, though.

Yep.  For example, it was barely two years ago that Derek White got selected for the Olympics and JB made it all about him being slighted.  JB powers himself on grievances.  It might have helped the young guys this year in an us against the world sort of way, but it also might have gotten quite old for those who had played with him long enough.